A little over a year ago, Tyler and Rachel Torres were halfway through their hurricane tour of Asia when A COVID-19 outbreak on board the Diamond Princess forced her to quarantine when the boat docked in Japan.
“We have an advantage over everyone else I think,” said Rachel Torres.
During the month-long affair, the couple shared their experiences online and in television interviews.
For almost two weeks they were mostly housed in a tiny cabin.
From their window they watched as dozens of sick passengers were taken from the ship to ambulances. In the end, more than 700 passengers tested positive.
“People who took them off the boat left in quarantine bubbles with people in hazmat suits, and they are being separated from their families, with people having to stay on the boat,” Rachel said in an interview with Die Zeit.
The couple both tested negative. And they found out just three days before the end of the quarantine The United States would evacuate them from the ship.
But instead of going home, they would be taken to a military base for round two quarantine.
After more than 20 hours in a cargo plane, The pair were at Lackland Air Force Basebefore another phase of isolation.
When they got home They had been gone for more than a month.
Just two weeks later, Texas was closed.
“Before we left and went to Lackland, we said, ‘OK, we have two weeks left. It sucks, but after that we’ll be back to normal. It’ll just stay over there, ”said Tyler Torres
“I don’t think we ever imagined we’d actually switch off,” Rachel said.
During this time, the couple said loved ones would turn to them for ways to use their time.
On the ship, Rachel had focused on learning Spanish and planning a friend’s event, while Tyler kept more than 200,000 people informed of the situation on board via a Reddit feed and blog.
At home, Rachel focused on home improvement projects while Tyler cooked.
While they may have experienced isolation, they said the second round wasn’t necessarily easier.
“We had an end day in our quarantine. We had a fixed date that we could look forward to, only two more days, only four days, whatever. And even if that changed, we knew we’d go someday, “said Rachel.” I think now everyone who waits in the unknown is just waiting, so to speak, until it’s over. It would be nice if we all had an end date. But we don’t. I think we had a lot of hope for those end dates. I think now we must all find hope in other things. “
Both vaccinated as health workers, the couple hope the end is in sight.
They even dream of the day they can travel again, maybe even on another cruise.
